Well here it is everyone! Now, for every chapter I write I will put another one up. I am warning you all now, the length of all of the chapters WILL vary, sometimes greatly, and sometimes not so much. So thank you all so much for your patience, and here is your reward!

Houkiboshi

Chapter 1. Midnight Terrors

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Little Hinamori ran through the trees in the small forest behind the house.

Her eyes scanned every bush and rock, searching for a familiar head of spiky, white hair. The branches and twigs caught on her tan kimono, but she kept going. Thorns and pebbles pricked her bare feet, but she continued looking.

Finally she halted for a moment to catch her breath, she turned her head around to see if she could find her friend, but to no avail. A cool Summer breeze wafted past her, and buffeted her hair that was tied neatly into two small pigtails.

Something was wrong today, she could sense it, the birds were not singing…

She crossed her arms and shivered, but then she heard a noise and she whipped around. She saw nothing, and all was quiet.

It sounded as though a lion had sneezed; it was loud, but low like a ruffled growl. It was something that she had never heard before in her life. Fear began to creep up her spine and she glanced around wildly. She began to breathe heavily and her entire being told her to run. And she did.

She turned away from the direction from where she had heard the noise and plunged deeper into the forest. And as she was running, she could have sworn that she heard the noise several times again, and twigs snapped as though something were following her. This only caused her to run even faster.

This had never happened to her before, and she did not know what to do, the only thing she could do was run. She continued to run until she could not breathe anymore. Then she stopped and leaned against a tree, panting and glancing around.

Nothing stirred; the wind did not even blow.

However, Hinamori could faintly make out the sounds of the birds chirping again, and she knew that the threat, whatever it was, had passed; for now.

She glanced up at the sky, it was darker then it usually was when they finished their games every day. The shadows were creeping in now, and she did not know where she was anymore. She had never ventured so deep into the forest, not when it was so late at least. And just like that, the birds that had resumed chirping for a moment were silent again as night closed in.

Tears clung onto Hinamori's eyelashes and terror once again gripped her heart. It was dark, there was something lurking in the woods, and worst of all she was alone.

She fell to the ground and began to cry. She pulled her knees to her chest and covered her head with her arms, trying to shield herself from anything and everything.

Then she began to hear noises again, the twigs snapping, and echoes as if someone were yelling. The little girl calmed herself as best she could and tried to keep quiet, so that whatever was out there would not find her. Then some instinct deep down told her to open her eyes.

And so, the small chestnut eyes blinked themselves open and she lifted her head slightly. The sudden and intense darkness frightened her and she squeaked and ducked her head back into her knees. She was now aware of the pain in her feet; all of the thorns and rocks she had stepped on were really starting to take their toll on the fragile, young girl.

Then the voices that she thought she was hearing were gone, and she was alone in the silence again.

She started to cry again, knowing that they were calling her name, looking for her, but she could not get up, she just could not…

After what seemed hours later, the voices came again, and as she looked up once more, Hinamori saw a small light in the distance. It was bright and yellow, like a star, showing her the way she desired to go so badly. The small light came closer and hope rose in her chest and she attempted to stand. But then the light went away again; it faded and then disappeared again behind the shadows.

"No." She whimpered. "No…no…no…" She fell back down and wept even more.

The night was still young, and it was not yet finished with the cruel games it had in store for the girl.

About one minute later, she heard a thud, and she froze completely. But she heard no more sounds, and the possibility that they could be footsteps left her mind. But the noise had sounded so close to her…

She lifted her head up, whipped some tears away, and then looked to her left. Next to her, she could barely make out a small shape that she knew had not been there before, and she almost started crying again, out of pity and sadness this time and not fear.

A small bird had fallen from the trees somewhere and smashed to the ground. She let out a high-pitched screech and the tears began to flow and pour over her cheeks.

Hinamori could not bare it anymore and so she stood up and tried to run to where she had seen the light disappear. As she stepped one bleeding foot in front of the other, she did not get past four paces before she froze again.

A horrible presence seemed to envelop her and she turned around to where the bird had fallen. Her eyes widened and she squeaked in terror. A large dark shape was crouched over the small body of the bird, and in less then a second, the feathered body was gone. A giant head shot up and stared at Hinamori, two small, black, abyss-like eyes stared into her and she could not tear her gaze away.

It seemed to hypnotize her and she could not move. Her feet were rooted to the Earth like a plant as the lumbering figure slowly made its way over to her. And the only thing that her body allowed her to do was scream.

Suddenly, a hand was gripping her arm and she was being pulled through the dark forest. She stumbled and tripped multiple times, but she did not let herself fall, for she was all too aware of the enormous, brutal, reiatsu behind her.

She glanced down at the person pulling her along, his spiky, white hair the only characteristic about him that stuck out in the dark. He did not look back, and the surprising seriousness about him told her to do the same, and that she should stay focused on what lay ahead of them, not behind.

The anxiety streaming off of the boy kept Hinamori running at top speed, which was surprisingly how fast she had to run just to keep up with him.

Then, she heard the same sound from before, the growling lion as the huge beastly creature chased after the two, crushing trees under its massive weight. The light of the small lantern her friend carried was the only faint brightness that guided their way; unfortunately, the creature was nocturnal and could see easily in the dark.

There was no moon that night, or if there was, it gave off no light, for the trees completely blocked it out.

Hitsugaya was trying his very best to not show his fear, for if Hinamori knew he was frightened, there would be no hope for them.

As they dashed between the trees, Hitsugaya began to notice that they were pulling ahead of the monster, and its growls were becoming fainter. He thought, so truly that they were going to make it, and he started to run faster.

But his sudden jerking of her arm caused the surprised girl to fall behind him. The boy stopped running and turned around.

"Momo-chan!" He cried.

As swiftly as he could, he reached down and his fingers found hers and he hauled her back up to her feet.

"Come on, Momo-chan! We're almost there! We have to keep going!" He urged.

But it seemed as though his friend had given up all hope, for her pace was much slower. She was panting heavily, and she staggered and could not keep up with him.

"I-I can't Shiro-chan…I-I just can't…" She whimpered.

The noises of the creature were drawing nearer once again, and desperately, Hitsugaya tried to make his friend move. But he knew that they had wasted too much time, and there was only one thing they could do now; hide.

He quickly scoured the surrounding area and tried to make out each and every dark and unfamiliar shape. Then, his aqua eyes made out the twisted shapes of multiple thick roots, winding over the ground. In one last attempt to move his friend, Hitsugaya tugged her hand over to him and they stumbled over the roots. At the sound of the approaching monster, the two quickly scrabbled under the roots and huddled close together, pressing themselves as far away from the openings as they could.

Hitsugaya groped in the darkness and desperately searched with his fingers for the lantern. He quickly found the knob on the side and twisted it until the light went out completely. Hinamori was still shaking and sobbing, and Hitsugaya placed his hand over her mouth and moved even closer to her.

"Shhhh." He whispered.

She still shook, but did not make another sound, and the humungous footsteps grew closer. Then, it was as if the monster was directly above them, and for a moment, neither of them moved a muscle. Hinamori felt Hitsugaya tense, and he felt her stop breathing.

And then all was quiet, but neither of them dared to move.

Hitsugaya kept his eyes focused on the large gap where the roots opened up, which was where they had gotten in.

If the creature found them, it could fit through…

Suddenly, the ground shook as a giant muzzle was thrust through the entrance, Hinamori screamed, and Hitsugaya thanked goodness that his hand was still covering her mouth, so it turned out to be nothing more then a muffled shriek.

A hairy mouth dripped with saliva as the nose sniffed, trying to decipher where they were hiding. But after a moment, the muzzle disappeared, and the footsteps thundered away back into the forest from whence it came.

For a few moments after the monstrosity was gone, neither one of them moved or made a sound. But then, Hitsugaya's hand fell away from her mouth, and Hinamori burst out crying.

She rested her head on his shoulder and wept, and all he could do was hug her.

She cried and cried, and then finally she managed to talk.

"Oh, Shiro-chan…I was so scared…I thought you forgot about me…" She gasped on his shoulder.

He smiled.

"Momo-chan, I could never forget you." He stated.

"I…I want to go home…" She whispered. He squeezed her tighter.

"Me too." He said. "But we're both really tired, and if we go back out there now, the monster might come back." At those words, he felt Hinamori tense and shudder, but he went on. "Besides, we know he can't get us here. We'll be safe at least."

"W-Well then, can we turn on the light?" She pleaded. But he had to deny her.

"If we do he could find us again." He told her truthfully.

Reluctantly, she nodded.

As the night went on, the two stayed together and did not move.

After about an hour, Hinamori cried less and less, and eventually fell asleep on his shoulder.

Hitsugaya continued to keep watch, but only moments after her, he too fell asleep.

A/N: There you have it! Chapter 1 finished! Sumimasen for any spelling mistakes, I rushed through editing it just so I could put it up for you guys.

And I am just saying this now, This Is MY Story! So I know that I changed little things around that are different from the manga and show. Like I am not sure if he called her Momo-chan but that is my opinion and I thought it sounded right when they were little. So I am just pleading now, No Flamers!

Thank you! Please review!!